Where I’ll be (rest of 2013)

[mrissa]

Mostly I will be at home, but not everyone has heard the rest of my plans, and it might be relevant to some of you, so:

I am going to Farthing Party at the end of this month in Montreal. I will show up the Wednesday before and depart the Wednesday after the Farthing Party weekend itself. J’aime Montreal. So many lovely places to return to, so many lovely places I haven’t been yet. And Farthing Party itself! Which is full of excellent monkeys but not in such bulk as to be unmanageable! Hurrah. Am excited. I already have one dinner plan. Poke me if you’re going to be there too and want something else definitive in that time.

I am also going to a family wedding in the Hudson River Valley in mid-October. I will not be going through New York City this time, just in and out of a little local airport a bit further north than NYC. Last time we were going to the Hudson River Valley, we wanted to stop off and visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Which I loved, and which I bet I still love. But NYC traffic I do not love, and this trip is all about the family wedding, and since it’s a fairly short-notice wedding, we are not planning any kind of tours or visiting of NYC friends around it. Sorry to be so close and yet so far for some of you.

I will not be going to the Minn-StF fallcon this year, and this is no fault whatsoever of the concom. Fallcon is fun. You should go if you like fun. But following one round of very active con-like participation at Farthing Party and one set of family stuff, this year’s fallcon comes just too soon for me to plan to spend the energy. There is really nothing additionally fun the concom could have done to make this interesting to me; I was already interested. I just have not been overflowing with energy of late, and that’s already kind of a lot.

I will also not be going to World Fantasy Con or Sirens, although neither is off the table for future years when I have different time/energy commitments.

I have no idea where we will be for Boxing Day and beyond, but the odds are fairly good it will be somewhere in the upper Midwest that is not here. I am not in sole charge of that decision, and it’s unlikely to result in visits for any friends, given the other parameters and priorities–that’s Christmas with Mark’s side of the family, which means maximizing niece-time.

And now you know.

Originally published at Novel Gazing Redux

Comments

[magentamn.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear you won't make the Fall con this year, but it sounds like you have a lot on your plate. Keeping oneself healthy has got to be the first priority.

I never made it to Farthing Party; I wish I had, especially since I understand this is the last one. Hope you have a wonderful time and can blog about it.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I have never had a bad Farthing Party. I have had Farthing Parties with complications. But never a bad one. I am sure this will not be a precedent.

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

We look forward to seeing you at Farthing Party! We are also heading to the East Coast for a wedding this fall, but not the same one.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Do we knooooow it's not the same one?

Yeah, probably we know. Okay.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Will be arriving in Montreal Thursday night. Ought I to buy Canadian dollars, and if so, how much would you suggest? (This being a first.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I find it very useful to have Canadian dollars. I would look into your credit card's exchange policy and see whether you're being charged merely a fee or a truly exorbitant fee to use your card in a foreign currency. You'll want at least a few Metro tickets, meals, possibly cab fare? depending on how you're getting there and how comfortable you are walking places, taking suitcases on buses, etc. papersky probably has a better estimate of how much it will all cost than I do.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (The last time I crossed the border I didn't have a credit card, which shows how totally behind the times I am with these issues. I will look into it.)

[shana.livejournal.com]

You can use your ATM card to get Canadian dollars from and ATM. That's what I usually do. For my network, I have to go to an actual bank, as most of the convenience stores aren't on my network.

I find that I generally spend between $200 and $300 dollars on meals and sundries; it depends on which restaurants I decide to eat at, and whether I have any alcohol.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I have never used an ATM card--I am terrified that I will be the old lady who gets knocked on the head and her PIN, etc, stolen. I will look into getting cash.

Thank you!

[webmccullogh.livejournal.com]

Travellers cheques in Cdn$ might be an option if you don't like carrying large amounts of cash. I don't know if they get much use any more in Montreal, I use them for most purchases on Cape Cod (US$ of course) but each summer more cashiers need to call a supervisor to help process the transaction. There are added benefits, once purchased the currency exchange is no longer an issue, and if you come in under budget and there are some left at the end of the trip they can always be used in the future.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice!

I called the credit card company, discovered that the charge would be minimal for conversion, BUT! They said it was good that I called as they put holds on credit cards suddenly showing up beyond the USA border, as there is so much fraud. They asked for my dates of travel. Phew! bullet dodged!

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

Where in the Hudson Valley? I grew up along the route of the Delaware & Hudson Canal. (Ulster County, between Kerhonkson and Accord, if that means anything to you.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

The Greater Poughkeepsie Metro Area.

[redbird]

Well, probably....but I am reminded of a conversation on Making Light a few years ago, in which TNH mentioned that she was going to a specific town in Arizona for a family wedding, and one of the commenters who she didn't otherwise know observed that, funny, so was he. After a few rounds of conversation, it transpired that they were about to be second cousins by marriage.

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

Not getting to see you guys is one of the things that is making me sad about missing Farthing. I do hope we will be able to be in the same places now and then in the future.

Also, I hear you about the whole "We are near the city! There are many fine things to do in the city! But ohgod that would involve going into the city." thing. FWIW, if you happen to be flying in and out of Stewart-Newburgh, I have found it to be a fairly pleasant and low-key little airport.

-Nameseeker

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I am very glad to hear that, because that is indeed the airport we're using.

And yes. Colocation in future would be a good plan. We will hope for that. Honestly I don't know what my con travel schedule is going to look like once Jo isn't having Farthing every year. I'm sure we will want to go back to Montreal sometimes, because Montreal! But I think there may be some room for other con travel, sometimes possibly convenient places to people I don't see enough of. We'll see.